Arsenal moved back to within two points of Premier League leaders Manchester City after producing a rousing second-half display to beat Watford 3-0 at Vicarage Road.

Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring on 62 minutes as the Gunners finally broke the hosts' resistance, before Olivier Giroud added a second shortly after coming on.

Aaron Ramsey completed the scoring on 74 minutes by bundling home a third as Arsene Wenger's side reclaimed second spot in the table from Manchester United.

Here, Sports Mole analyses how the players performed in this London derby.

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Goal

Heurelho Gomes: Despite conceding on three occasions, the Brazilian goalkeeper was largely blameless for all of them, and saved well from Sanchez in the first half. (6/10)

Defence

Allan Nyom: Well placed to mop up a series of dangerous moments from a Watford perspective, with one incident proving particularly key. (7/10)

Sebastian Prodl: Perhaps should have been closer to Giroud, who was completely unmarked when he thumped a second goal into the roof of the net. Excellent prior to that. (6/10)

Craig Cathcart: Endured one or two nervy moments with Walcott early on, but grew into the game brilliantly, though was nowhere to be seen when things went belly up. (6/10)

Nathan Ake: Allowed Bellerin, and Ramsey to a lesser extent, get the run on him on a few occasions, and his end product left a little to be desired at the other end. (4/10)

Midfield

Ikechi Anya: Industrious as ever from Anya, whose movement caused a number of problems. Also could have had an assist but Ighalo fluffed the one-on-one. (6/10)

Etienne Capoue: The ex-Tottenham Hotspur man was brilliant in the middle of the park and got underneath the skin of a number of Arsenal players. Also distributed the ball brilliantly from midfield. (7/10)

Ben Watson: Looked comically sloppy in possession at times but, fortunately for the ex-Wigan Athletic man, these went unpunished by Arsenal. (5/10)

Almen Abdi: Struggled to get going in both halves, and was hooked off for Victor Ibarbo with 15 minutes to play. (5/10)

Attack

Troy Deeney: Proved himself a handful for Arsenal's defence by virtue of his strength, but lacked the composure needed at crucial times. (6/10)

Odion Ighalo: Always looked a menace, though he could and should have opened the scoring in the first half, but he fluffed a one-on-one - and badly fluffed it. Watford fans expected more. (5/10)

Substitutes

Victor Ibarbo: Replaced Abdi on the 75-minute mark but had precious little impact. (4/10)

Goal

Petr Cech: Suffered one hairy moment in the first half but did precious little wrong other than that. (6/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Excellent running from the jet-heeled Spaniard, who caused Ake a host of problems, and set up the third via tormenting the Chelsea loanee once again. (7/10)

Per Mertesacker: Picked up a second-half booking, but the German was superb in both halves as he read the game brilliantly, as per usual. (7/10)

Laurent Koscielny: First game back following a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman did not look rusty one bit and managed to produce some excellent moments.(7/10)

Nacho Monreal: Might have opened the scoring if not for Nyom's first-half intervention. Was caught out of position at times in the first period, but much less frequently after the break. (6/10)

Midfield

Aaron Ramsey: Plenty of running as usual but the Welshman's instinct in front of goal seeemed to dessert him after missing a golden chance in the first half, but atoned for it by scoring the third - albeit in sloppy fashion. (7/10)

Francis Coquelin: Pulled off some wonderful tackles to thwart Watford in a few counter-attacks. Linked defence to attack brilliantly once again. (6/10)

Santi Cazorla: Kept the ball brilliantly, perhaps a bit too well as he often held on to possession for too long before being dispossessed. Improved after the break and played the ball which led to Arsenal's opener. (7/10)

Mesut Ozil: Drifted in and out of the game, producing some excellent moments, but nowhere near frequent enough to trouble Watford. Still grabbed an excellent assist for Giroud's goal. (6/10)

Alexis Sanchez: Looked rather sluggish in the first half, but shrugged off that lethargy after the break and opened the scoring to maintain his red-hot form in front of goal. (7/10)

Attack

Theo Walcott: Started well, capitalising on lots of space behind Watford's back four, but slowly and surely became less and less involved. Replaced just after Sanchez's opener. (5/10)

Substitutes

Olivier Giroud: Scored within minutes of replacing the quiet Walcott. (7/10)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Had the best part of 13 minutes to make an impact, and his pace could have certainly troubled a tiring Watford, but he did not look up for it. (5/10)

Written by
Shane Callaghan